Automatic cut-off for gas-stove burners.



L. E. LEMLEY & R. N. LEOPARD.

AUTOMATIC CUT-OFF FOR GAS STOVE BURNERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I5, I914.

Patented June 1, 1915.

W m L E. L

INVENTORS WITNESSES ATTORN EY innea.

ENKTEE %TATE% PATENT @FFlQE.

LOUIS E. LEMLEY AND ROBERT N. LEOPARD, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

AUTOMATIC CUT-OFF FOR GAS-STOVE BURNEBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, ram.

Application filed April 15,1914. Serial No. 832,093.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS E. LEMLEY and ROBERT N. LEOPARD, citizens of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and useful Automatic CutOfi' for Gas-Stove Burners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in automatic cut-offs for burners of gas stoves, and its object is to produce a mechanism which may be readily attached to the gas stove burners whereby the placing of a cooking vessel over a burner of the gas stove causes the opening of the gas inlet, and the removal of the vessel causes a closure of the gas inlet, so that a failure to shut off the gas valve or an accidental or careless turning on of the gas valve will not cause an escape of gas.

When the gas stove is in use, and the cooking utensils are placed thereon and taken off of the stove there is no waste of gas by failure to turn the gas valves off and the operation of the stove may be assured by the.

employment of a pilot flame which may burn continuously while the stove is in use, wherefore the heating burners may be permitted to become automatically extinguished in the absence of a cooking utensil, and will automatically light up when a cooking utensil is placed-upon a burner.

The present invention contemplates a structure which may be applied to various types of gas stoves without any change in the structure of the stoves interfering with the use of the stoves in the ordinary manner,

and. also, the structure is such that it may be applied to ordinary gas stove burners in a minimum of time and at a minimum of expense. r

The invention will be best understood from av consideration of the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with the further understanding that while the drawings show a practical form of the invention, the latter is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings, but maybe changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the.

invention. y p

In the draw1ngs:F1gure 1 1s a side elevation of a gas stove burner with the lnvenin section. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of one of the burner valve receiving heads. .Fig. 4 is an end view of a portion of the automatic attachment for the burner valve. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a modified portion of the structure.

In the drawings there is shown a gas burner head 1 which may be taken as or ordinary construction, and this head has the usual gas conveying tubular extension 2 terminating at an appropriate distance from the burner 1 in a hood 3 to which is applied a valve 4 held to the hood by a set screw 5 extending through a lug 6 on the face of the hood.

The parts described may be in general typical of ordinary constructions customarily employed in connection with gas stoves, and so these parts need not be specifically described.

Applied to a portion of the tubular extension 2- near its point of junction with the burner head 1 is'a stud 7 on the free end of which there is pivotally mounted a rock lever 8. One end of this lever has applied thereto a rod 9 so situated as to project upwardly through the center of the burner head when the structure is installed, and at the upper end of this rod there is applied a tubular neck 10 projecting from a head 11, the neck carrying a set screw 12 designed to hold the neckto the rod 9 in any desired position of telescoping adjustment. The neck 10 extends through a guiding stand or yoke l0 made fast to the top of the burner head in any suitable manner. The neck 10 is long enough to carry the head 11 above the upper surface of the usual grid 13 found in gas stoves.

Pivotally connected to the end of the rock arms remote from the rod 9 is another rod 14:. carried through a guiding lug 15 projecting from one side of the tubular extension 2, and the rod 14: adjacent to the lug 15 may be provided with a collar 16 between which and the lug 15 the rod is surrounded by a spring 17 tending at all times to move the rod 14 in a direction to hold the head 11 a suitable distance above the surface of the grid 13. Instead of employing a spring for this'purpose, a weight 18 may be applied to the rock lever 8,. say, at the junction of the rod 14 therewith, and this weight will tend at all times to holdthe head 11 in the elevated position, but like the spring will yield to a superior force applied to the head and tending to depress it.

The rod 14 terminates in a yoke 19 receiving one end of another rod 20, such end being flattened, as lndicated at 21, and, enter ing the yoke 19, is held 1n adpisted positions therein by a set screw 22. The rod 20 con-.

stituting an extension of the rod 14- enters the hood 3 through a perforation 23 formed therein, and extends entirely through the hood'and beyond that face thereof remote from the burner 1 where the rod has applied thereto an adjustable stop member 24L held in any desired position with respect to the rod by a set screw 25. V

Offset from and fast to the rod extension 20 within the hood 3 is a finger 26 having a pin prolongation 27 arranged axially of the may be prevented from escaping toward the a valve 4 by a stop pin 33 extending across the bore of the hollow plug 29, while the reduced end ofthe bore adjacent to the flaring. end of the plug constitutes a valve seat forthe valve 82, and thepin extension 27 is'of such length and diameter as to enter the bore of the plug through the flaring end so as to en- I gage the-valve ball 32 and unseat it by an appropriate longitudinal movement of the V V the valve or valves 4 are turned off.

rod 1-1 and itsextension 20. p

To provide for an appropriate supply of air to the hood 3, that face of the hood remote from the burner 1 has a damper 34 I thereon, which damper may .be opened or closed to appropriate extents to regulate the air needed for the proper combustion of gas entering the hood 3 by way of the valve 1 and ultimately escaping with a suitable is notshown in the drawings.

quantity of air burner 1. .When it is desired to use the burner 1, or a stove .suppliedwi th several burners 1, the

mixed therewith at the gasvalvc 4 of the burner, or the gas valves ottwo or more burners, are opened, where- .-upon the gas pressure at once drives the 55 valve ball 32 against its seatin the plug 29.

. This prevents any escape of gas after the valve 4 is opened, and while thegr'id 13 containsnolcookingor other utensil. To save" thegnecessity of lighting up theburner' everytime it is desired to use it, the stove may. be equipped withv burners provided with the usual p lotfburner wh ch, however,

.As soon as any suitable object is placed upon thegrid 13 it first'contacts with-the head 11. and depresses it to the levelof upper surface of the grid 13. This move ment is transmitted through the rod 9, lever 8, and rods 1e and 20 to the pin 27, which Vi latter in the normal or inoperative position of the parts is withdrawn from the bore of the plug 29. On depressing the head 11,

however, the pin extension 27 enters the bore of the plug 29 through the flaring opening,' and engaging the ball 32 dislodges it from its seat, so that gas will now flow into the tubular part 2 and from thence into the burner head 1, carrying suificient air withtit to sustain combustion, andthe burner operrods let and 20 as'to withdraw the pin ex 1 tension 27 from the path of the valve 32 and theforce of the flowing gas'at once moves this valve into its seat and holds it there, thereby shutting off the gas, although the valve lr'emains open. i

So long asthe stove isin use and cooking 9 utensils are being placed upon and removed from theburners, the valves 4 remain open,

but gas is not burned uselessly sinceall the time the burner is not in use the-gas is automatically cut efi' from it, and as soon as it is put into use the gas is automatically turned on. Of course, when. the stove as a whole, or any one, of theburners is not to be used,

results from such action,.since no gas can reachthe burner unless'a cooking utensil be first placed thereon.

The whole invention maybe applied' to'ex isting' gas stoves at a minimum of trouble and, expense, makingthe stove so "changed mamas inaction and unlikelyto be accidentallyturned on so as to cause escape of gas. i we .Nhat is claimed 4 1. In a gas stove provided with a -burner, a gas controlling valve, aconduit between the valve and burner, a valve casing con nected" to the dischargeend of the burner.

and; opening into the conduit in the line of flow of fluid therethrough' and. provided with a" valve seat at the end' 'toward the burner, a valve within'the valve casing r e-f SPOIISlVG to gas pressure to automatically close,v a member associated with the bur ner and mounted for movement by articles placed overtheburner, and eonnections'between saidlasti-named member and jthe 'valve casing and provided with a terminal portion in position to enter the valve casing through the outlet end thereof to engage and dislodge the valve from the valve seat.

2. In a gas stove provided with a burner, a gas controlling valve, a conduit leading from the valve to the burner, a supplementary valve casing and valve housed therein and applied to the gas outlet of the main gas valve, said valve casing having a flaring outlet in the line of flow of gas through the main gas valve, and the valve within the casing being freely responsive to flow of gas to seat against the smaller end of the flaring outlet and closing said outlet, and means extending from the burner to the flaring opening of the supplementary valve casing and responsive to articles placedover theburner to then force the supplementary valve against the action of the gas pressure from its seat.

3. In a gas stove provided with a burner, a main gas controlling valve, a conduit leading therefrom to the burner, a supplementary valve casing and valve therein carried by the discharge end of the main gas valve, said casing comprising a hollow plug with the end remote from that applied to-the main valve reduced in diameter and then flaring with the flaring portion constituting the gas outlet of the supplementary casing and the valve being in thef'orm of a ball valve freely movable under gas pressure and in the direction of flow thereof to seat at the small end of the flaring opening for closing the latter, a member located'at the burner and movable by objects placed over the burner, and connections between said movable member and-the supplementary valve casing, said connections being provided with a terminal portion movable. into and out of the supplementary valve casing to dislodge the ball valve when moved intosaid casing.

4:- In a gas stove provided with a burner, a main gas controlling valve, a conduit leading therefrom to the burner, a supplementary valve casing and valve therein carried by the discharge end of the main gas valve, said casing comprising a hollow plug with the end remote from that applied to the main valve reduced in diameter and then flaring with the flaring portion constituting the gas outlet of the supplementary casing and the valve being in the form of a ball valve freely movable under gas pressure and in the direction of flow thereof to seat at the small end of the flaring opening for closing the latter, a member located at the burner and movable by objects placed over the burner, and connections between said movable member and the supplementary valve casing, said connections being provided with a terminal portion movable into and out of the supplementary valve casing to dislodge the ball valve when moved into said casing, and said connections being provided with means constrainingthem toward the inactive position and also provided with means for adjusting the effective length of said connections.

. 5. In a gas stove, the combination with a gas burner provided with a gas conduit lead ing therefrom, a terminal hood for the conduit, and a controlling valve entering the hood, of a hollow plug adapted to the dis charge end of the valve, said plug having a valve seat therein and a valve responsive to gas pressure to move to the closed osition, a rod carried by the tubular conduit and entering the hood and there provided with a pin movable into and out of the valve plug into and out of engagement with the valve therein, direction-changing means mounted on the gas burner and connected to the rod, and another rod carried by the directionchanging means and having a terminal portion in the path of an article placed in operative relation to the burner, both rods being provided with telescoping portions for the adjustment of their effective lengths, and means for normally constraining the rods to the inactive position, the first-named rod being of a length to extend entirely through the hood and there provided with an adjustable stop means for locking the rod in position to maintain the valve within the valve plug in the open position.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretov affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS E. LEMLEY. ROBT. N. LEOPARD.

Witnesses:

ST. CLAIR ADAMS, JOSEPH HOCKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

